Tottenham Hotspur
Ahead of this evening s Europa League round of 16 encounter with Dinamo Zagreb (8pm kick-off), we take a look at the game’s key statistics and the connections between the sides.
Spurs v Dinamo Zagreb
We have faced Dinamo Zagreb just once before in a competitive game. That meeting came just over 12 years ago as we hosted the Croatian outfit in the UEFA Cup group stage back in November, 2008. At White Hart Lane we stormed to a 4-0 win with Darren Bent scoring a hat-trick while Tom Huddlestone also got on the scoresheet – current first teamer Gareth Bale started the game for us that night.
THE calls came out of the blue to Stuart McCall. One offered him an opportunity, while the other laid out the challenge ahead of him. The message from Walter Smith was received loud and clear and in good humour. By that time, McCall had already accepted the offer to become Rangers manager in March 2015. McCall had only been inside Auchenhowie for a matter of minutes and he hadn’t put on a training session yet, never mind taken charge of a game. When Smith speaks, he always listens. “The first day, I go in and I get a phone call,” McCall said. “And the first call I got was from Walter, or Sir Walter as I call him! His first words were ‘do you know what you are letting yourself in for?’.
Tottenham Hotspur
Ahead of tonight’s Europa League round of 32 return leg with Wolfsberger AC, we take a look at the key numbers behind the game.
First leg
We stormed to a 4-1 victory over Wolfsberger AC in Thursday’s first leg in Budapest. First-half goals from Heung-Min Son, Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura set us on our way before Michael Liendl pulled one back from the penalty spot for the hosts. Carlos Vinicius, however, restored our three-goal lead late on with an instinctive strike – an advantage which means our Austrian visitors will need to score four without reply in north London this evening to overcome us in the tie. And history will be against Wolfsberg in N17 as, since the inception of the UEFA Cup/Europa League, no team has overturned a three-goal deficit away from home in the second leg during the knockout stages of the competition.
EURO best: group stage (1992, 1996)
Scotland have recorded some memorable victories in EURO qualification, however, the Tartan Army have managed to reach the group stage just twice. Of their two appearances, Craig Brown s side came closest to making the knockout phase at EURO 96, when they were a Patrick Kluivert consolation goal away from the quarter-finals. Instead, the Scots were left to curse another hard-luck story, as the Netherlands progressed on goals scored alongside hosts England.
Key players
John McGinn (29 caps, 7 goals)
Whether it s snapping into tackles, providing killer passes or popping up with important goals, McGinn sets the tempo and is the beating heart of the Scottish midfield.
Article By Alan Hendry Published: 20:16, 26 January 2021
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German star Karl-Heinz Riedle after signing the painting by local artist Davie Greig.
Plans are in place for a showpiece fundraising match this summer between Thurso firefighters and a team of ex-Rangers stars â Covid-19 permitting.
The match is scheduled for Saturday, August 7, to be followed by a sportsman s dinner and charity auction. Funds will be used to buy life-saving defibrillators as well as helping local charities.
Organisers have secured sponsorship from local businesses and are hopeful that the coronavirus restrictions will have eased enough to allow the match and the evening function to go ahead.